Taking a new approach.....

[Pinecone]

Ok so I've been back and forth with the whole fatloss thing ; I've been (and am) frustrated, irritated and perplexed that I can't seem to get where I want to go. Anyone who does any kind of research will tell you a few common things that are crucial to weightloss (well, two in particular):

1. Eating properly
2. Exercise

Sounds simple but it's not because if it was, we wouldn't be here trying to lose fat!!

Ok so eating properly.... many schools of thought - calorie deficit, no carb or low carb, no fat or low fat, lots of water, cleansers, herbs, etc, etc. Plus there are more *diet plans* out there than I can even name. Do they work? I've tried a few.... my thought is not really.

Same with exercise.... want to burn fat? Well do cardio, cardio, cardio. Alright, let's go with that for a moment.... presuming that is true, how is it that I am not at my goal weight? I mean seriously.... with proper nutrition and doing at least 30-45 mins of cardio per day, 5 days a week, you'd expect to see results right? NOPE!! Have done this in the past and all I did was make myself tired and frustrated.

So, here is what I'm proposing to do and feel free to comment but please, please, please don't give me the ol' "you need to count your calories" BS. Sorry, but when you work your way down from 2000 cals/day to 1000 and you haven't seen ANY result.... then obviously there is more to it than that.

I've done some reading. I've tinkered with bodybuilding in the past and here is what I'm going to do (à la Schwarzenneger):

1. Whole foods only. As he said (more or less): "nature is great at making food and scientists are great at making it change colour". What does this mean? No processed food including bread, pasta, etc. Naturally I will watch the carbs and keep the fats low, but I'm not going to weigh my meal and count calories. Arnold recommends at least 0.5g/protein per lb of bodyweight (as a beginner) and that's what I'm going to do.

2. Instead of looking like a really irritated energizer bunny with bad hair, sitting on the recumbant bike or treadmill everyday, I'm going to use what God gave me. I'm an endo-meso build.... I build muscle quickly and I'll never be a size 2 courtesy of my curves (FINE..... let's just worry about getting the fat off the frame and see where I wind up). I'm going to focus on building solid, lean muscle. If I can do that, then by default my metabolism goes up and I should see some fat loss. Not saying I'm giving up on cardio, but it will NOT be my focus. I am going to focus on weights.

Today is February 3, 2011. I weigh 202 lbs, size 16 (bloody scary). When I was 16, I was 145 lbs, size 6. Given I've had a baby and I'm an adult now.... I'm aiming for 165 lbs, size 8. More worried about the size than the weight but I'll know when I get there. I want to pass the jiggle test (don't ask LOL).

1st GOAL: Size 12, and 175 lbs by July 1, 2011. That gives me 5 months, losing let's say 5 lbs per month, and almost a size per month. Ambitious? Yes. Do-able? Most definitely.

Thanks for listening.

Pinecone

 

[weightwizard]

Pinecone

As you indicate most traditional "diets" or weight-loss plans concentrate on:
either exercising or
eating well (less).

Some now are trying to go on to include:
quality sleep; and
stress reduction.

I am inclined to approach it from the opposite end, i.e.
*Stress removal
*Quality Sleep
*Good nutrition
*Sensible Exercise

You are quite right to say that if the traditional "diets" had the answer then we would not all still be trying to lose weight. We have more diets, celebrity chefs and healthy cook books than ever before and yet we are being told of an "obesity epidemic".

I suspect that people feel that they are more stressed than ever before. (Whether they are or not isn't really the issue - perception is reality as far as each person is concerned).
I see people talking all day about this diet and that diet etc - yet if you ask many of these people you will find that they eat for reasons other than being hungry. They are often eating for emotional reasons and eating well beyond what they need to slate any hunger.

I truly believe that if we could help people with coping mechanisms to reduce and remove their stress;
allowed them to get more peaceful rest and feel better about themselves;
then as a result they would be less likely to turn to food for comfort;
and as they came to eat less and start to feel better about themselves, they would naturally find themselves moving more, becoming more active and getting more involved in day to day activities.
As a result, they start to lose weight;
as they feel better about themselves and lose weight...they feel better about themselves....and lose weight.

Diet's come at it from (to my mind) the completely wrong angle...they have people feeling bad...when we already know that the thing that those people turn to when they feel bad is....food!

Does this strike a cord with you? Can you relate to any of this?

 

[Pinecone]

Yes, absolutely. So many of us emotionally eat, and lets face it, especially from a female perspective, we are OBSESSED with being thin - and not necessarily healthy thin. Stress raises cortisol which hampers weightloss, we do eat when we're not hungry, we lead sedentary lifestyles for the most part, etc. Add fuel to the fire: refined, processed, sugar-laden foods and is anyone really surprised we face an "obesity pandemic"? I'm not.

I'm doing myself a favour and accepting that this will take time and effort. I'm not going to *stress* about calories (I have in the past and it didn't work anyhow), and I will focus on eating healthy, whole foods and exercise. The rest thing is a bit of an achilles heel for me, but I am striving for at least 7 hrs/night. Mr. Schwarzeneggar recommends 8, but I figure if I can do 7 hrs, monday to friday, and catch up a bit on weekends that will beat the usual 4-6 I get. Being a full time mom, employed and squeezing in exercise and studies is a full plate to say the least. But, the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step and if I don't take one step at a time, then I'll never start the journey and I'll be sitting here, whining and complaining about my weight without having actually DONE anything to try and remedy the situation. Esthetics aside, I want to be slim and a healthy weight for health reasons. None of us is getting any younger afterall!

I'm also trying very hard to accept my physique. I could literally starve myself half to death and not ever be a size 2. It's not physically possible for me. I am a strong, athletic build with curvy hips and broad shoulders. Ok, so I'll never be a victoria secret model (though most of them should try eating), but I can get the best physique I can for my build and be proud of that. That is what I am aiming for. I think size 8 would be about my slimmest and I'd be thrilled with that.

Thanks for replying

Pinecone